Amelia Earhart was a pioneer pilot in the world of aviation because she was an excellent female pilot in a field that was dominated by men. Amelia decided to take flying lessons when she was twenty years old. Six months into her lessons, she bought her own plane!

​Amelia set many records, including being the first woman to fly over the Atlantic Ocean and as the first person to fly solo over the Pacific Ocean. In 1937, she attempted to fly around the world! Unfortunately, part way around the world, Amelia and her plane disappeared, never to be found. Amelia is remembered for her bravery and as an inspiration for women.

This piece is inspired by a picture in the book and the chikdren drew and painted a happy Amelia up high in her plane and they used chalk pastels to make the hat and the wings on the plane look 3D by adding darker and lighter areas to create depth.

This term all my classes are starting off looking at Things that Go! So I thought it would be cool to give this group a bit of a history lesson and let them see what the first air craft looked like!

I love the story of the Wright brothers and how their curiosity, grit and experimenting led them to fly the very first airplane in 1903. The world would never be the same!

This lesson features a beautiful watercolor scene and delicate line drawing of the Wright brothers 1903 “Flyer.” The use of loose watercolor techniques captures the windy day of the first flight over the sandy dunes near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Salt added to the wet watercolor “sand” gives a sandy texture to the watercolor piece.

ABOUT THE WRIGHT BROTHERSOrville and Wilber Wright are the inventors and pilots of the world’s first successful airplane, built and flown in 1903. As young men, the brothers operated a printing press business and then a bicycle repair shop. Their knowledge of bicycles became a foundation for their experiments in designing a powered aircraft.

What child isn’t fascinated by machinery and things that move? This term my little artists are going to spend some time examining how these things are made up and how we can use shapes and lines to draw them!

Today’s challenge? A tractor of course! We used our circle tracers to get us started but all my kiddos drew these just by following along step by step from the whiteboard 😊

La Casa Azul or the blue house is the childhood home of artist Frida Kahlo as well as the home which she shared with her husband, artist Diego Rivera.

The house is now a museum brimming with all the vibrancy that these two personalities crammed into it. We looked at some interesting pictures of the inside and talked a bit about Frida’s life and her struggles before getting started sketching and painting one view of this charming property!

These colorful marigolds are the flower of choice during the annual celebration of Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead.

We talked a bit about what this is and then they also counted to 34 in Español! 😄

These kiddos are marigold-making rockstars! My little tricks made the process really easy and fun so they could literally do no wrong here! They also created a vase for these lovely blooms to be placed in and focused on those fine motor skills to follow the patterns I set out for them for the border.

Today my little campers were introduced to one of our feature artists... Frida Kahlo! Frida was born in Mexico in 1907. She was considered a SURREALIST PAINTER and was best known for her self-portraits.

She contracted polio when she was six years old and later suffered through a bus accident that left her with severe injuries. While recovering from her injuries, Frida began painting to pass the time. She painted what she felt.

Today they will create a collage of fruits as our version of one of her still life paintings shown above.

Frida Kahlo was born in Mexico in 1907. She was considered a SURREALIST PAINTER and was best known for her self- portraits.

She contracted polio when she was six years old and later suffered through a bus accident that left her with severe injuries. While recovering from her injuries, Frida began painting to pass the time. She painted what she felt.

“I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best.” - Frida Kahlo

She continued to paint after recovering and sought out muralist, Diego Rivera for advice.Eventually they were married and divorced and remarried again. Both were very influential artists.

Today they used watercolour paints to create a portrait of this legend of an artist whose style, passion for life and signature brows are almost as popular as her artwork!

Take a look as they go into the placement of features on the face and how to use this medium (watercolors) to effectively create a portrait 😊

Frida and Diego are both from Mexico! So of course my campers all learned to find Mexico on the world map and we got a little insight into the native country of our feature artists! In Mexico, the language spoken is Spanish and other age appropriate tidbits that you can ask your kiddos about! But we focused on the importance of the sun in Mexican culture. The sun is a symbol of life and energy!

Watch as your kids create their very own Mexican Clay Sun! They really had to work hard to flatten that clay and cut around the template, but as you’ll see they poured their little personalities into each piece! So some suns are perfectly proportioned and symmetrical, while others have bulging eyes and spider lashes! Each one unique, each one beautiful!

​These will have to spend the week with me while they dry and they will be painted and decorated so you can have a gorgeous keepsake from your little one's time with us!

Diego Rivera was one of Mexico’s most influential painters. He was born in Guanajuato, Mexico in 1886 and died in Mexico City on 1957.

Diego’s father built him a studio to support his son’s artistic pursuits. Diego began his formal art training at ten years old and by the time he was 20, he studied art in Paris and Italy.

He experienced Cubism with Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque and post-impressionism with Paul Cézanne. He was in good company!

When Diego returned to Mexico, he started painting murals that depicted social change. Many of his murals dealt with Mexican society and the Mexican Revolution of 1910.

He painted with strong colors and a stylized human form. He was married to another famous Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo.

I love Diego Rivera’s El Vendedor de Alcatraces. The strong color contrast and symmetry make it a perfect example to demonstrate these art terms to my campers. Drawing this one was a challenge but nothing we couldn’t handle!